Here is a question I've mulled over and I'm curious to know what
others practice. Do you always try to keep family dancers in time
with the music? Most of the family dances I've called have had a mix
of young children 4 and up and their parents; so it is this type of
crowd that I'm thinking of when I ask this question.
Rather than split longways sets into 6-8 couples, I've let them run
longer. The dancers need more time to complete the figures due to the
length of the sets and I get them going with the next figure at the
start of the next A or B. The plus is that we don't have to worry
about rushing, but I find that this requires me to call the entire
time as the dancers don't have the music as the cue.
I've played a bit with tempo. Slowing it way down does allow even
young dancers to complete the moves in sync, but I have found a
corresponding loss of energy from the slow tempo.
Thoughts?
Nancy Turner
Waitsfield VT
As new member to this list, I am coming in late to discussion re: Cherokee
Shuffle. Love the tune, and do not straighten it out. Just call it very
infrequently, usually on April Fools' with no explanation, I see April
Fool's Day as an opportunity - one year we did a Dance for President Bush
(Senior) that did not progress. I would love some new ideas for April Fools
Day 2010!
Thanks
Leda
I believe the dance without a name is Midwest Folklore, by Orace Johnson.
WD
callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
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> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. Re: Wedding dances (Amy Cann)
> 2. Re: Wedding dances (Luke Donev)
> 3. Re: Wedding dances (Michael Barraclough)
> 4. Waltz? (David Millstone)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:17:40 -0400
> From: "Amy Cann" <ACann(a)putneyschool.org>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Wedding dances
> Message-ID:
> <fc.0118c72d009deac53b9aca00173a5480.9dead5(a)putneyschool.org>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> OK, I just have to chime in (haven't posted here in AGES)
>
> I'm getting married next week, and I have NO IDEA what the caller is going
> to call. That's HIS job.
>
> I hired David Millstone and told him to do what will make the most people
> happy and comfortable.
>
> It's probably going to turn out to be the smartest bit of
> non-micromanaging I will ever do in my LIFE.
>
>
> Of course, I'm obsessing about everything ELSE...
>
>
> PS if you know me and have known about this wedding for ages and think you
> should be at this wedding and haven't gotten an official pretty paper
> invitation, it's because we used up all of the snailmail ones on the kind
> of relatives you have to invite even though you know they're not going to
> come anyway. My dance friends are all going to have to make do with a
> scanned-in pdf of the invite card and a link to the website. Watch your
> inbox for an email in the next 12 hours, and if something STILL doesn't
> show up it's because I'm an idiot. ( I SO identify with Sleeping Beauty's
> mother, who forgot to invite one of the fairies to the christening and
> ended up getting her daughter cursed.) Hell, I almost left Bob McQUILLAN
> off the list! Email me if you wanna come and I'll get you the details.
> Dave Bateman, are you out here? I don't have a good address for you
> anymore, your invite bounced.
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Sat, 1 Aug 2009 21:55:18 -0400
> From: Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com>
> To: "Caller's discussion list" <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Wedding dances
> Message-ID:
> <243d1eda0908011855s6300fb35w6c2e753f9199d652(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hello all,
>
> Thanks for the wonderful feedback, both on and off list. Very helpful and
> informative.
>
> The wedding and reception went very well. I forgot one of the cardinal rules
> of weddings, which is that they always run late. I didn't do nearly as many
> contras as I'd originally blocked out, and ended up with just three. I left
> them all Becket dances (since the last one had to be), and had a simpler
> first contra without a 1s and 2s distinction, and where it didn't matter
> what how you ended the swing
>
> Pluck It (easy Becket)
> A1: C L, C R
> A2: S R, S L
> B1: P DSD, P swg
> B2: N DSD, LL yearn left
>
> The new dancers seemed very comfortable with slide left type transitions for
> dances, and not having to cross over at the ends simplified things as well.
>
> The other simple dance went over well. Easy for new folks as it's the same
> set of moves twice. I collected it recently at Falcon Ridge, but I don't
> know the name or author. Any help?
>
> Becket
> A1 : C L 3/4, N DSD
> A2: N Bal & Swg
> B1: C L 3/4, P DSD
> B2: P Bal & Swg
> slide on to next couple
>
> By the final contra (Star Trek), we still had a fair number of new folks,
> and they gamely tried the hay, and by and large they did alright with it.
> The "find your partner and swing them" end of it helped a lot.
>
> Thanks again for the feedback and pointers.
>
>
Hi Amy,
Do you and Avi want to start with a waltz? Just you two? You two for a short
time-- that Kodak moment-- and then invite everyone to join in? Snowball waltz--
you waltz together then each invites someone else in and so on? Or skip the
waltz and just do the lambada? I suspect this hasn't been The First Thing On
Your Mind, but take 10 seconds to consider the question and then let me know.
Giving you an opportunity to micromanage,
D
Okay, so I just got in from a 4-hour drive from Wichita Falls, Texas, where I called a wedding rehearsal dance - wedding is at 6:46 a.m. this morning. Dance was in an open barn with ceiling fans, but a nice breeze blowing through the building - concrete floor - barbeque, beer & bourbon. Dance was supposed to be from 8:00-9:00 - we didn't start till 9:00 and danced till 10:00 since everybody has to get up so darn early in the morning. About 9:30, the mosquito attack began - looked like a German clapping dance on the floor...
The groom was bound and determined we have a "contra" dance (for only an hour). I (gently) protested, assuring him a "barn" dance would go over much better - 2 families, a bunch of strange friends might have trouble with swings - the embracing a stranger thing, you know. He assured me, "Yes, there will be at least 10 contra dancers there." There were only 4 - and there were about 30-40 dancing. So, I started with Moon & Stars Circle - didn't bother explaining how to swing because the groom assured me...
Swings ended up mostly being elbows. That told me something...
So, I did Newlywed Lane. That worked just fine. Lots of laughing, clapping. Fancy Free Flirting circle waltz worked, too.
Contra dance? Well, I've never had a failure with the one I chose, but no one was paying attention by that dance (maybe the mosquitos had something to do with it). I used my own "La Ba Contra" (a knock-off of La Bastringue - easy, huh? - changed the chains to F&B 2x to make it even easier. Somehow, we made it though the dance - even though I told them they could rest on the ends if no one to dance with - they didn't hear me say that, so when they got to the end, they raced to the other end with their partner to dance with the couple "resting on the other end"...
Ended with a free waltz and Cotton-eyed Joe - which none of them knew how to do the old version or the modern version.
Got a good paycheck, though...
Looking forward...
Linda S. Mrosko
7302 CR 2829
Mabank, Texas 75156
(903) 451-5535 (H)
(903) 288-4401 (cell)
lmrosko(a)hotmail.com
www.towerwebsites.com/dancinglindahttp://www.facebook.com/lmrosko
"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
-- Friedrich Nietzsche
> Date: Fri, 31 Jul 2009 19:11:45 -0700
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> From: gregmck(a)earthlink.net
> Subject: Re: [Callers] Wedding dances
>
>
> Linda wrote:
> >We take progressing and identifying actives and inactives for
> >granted. However, these concepts can be a bit difficult, especially
> >for a group that includes many novices. And you can bet that the
> >novices WILL be dancing together!
>
> My recollection of this event was that there would be a good number
> of experienced dancers. I find that experienced dancers are always
> ready and willing to dance with new dancers, if the caller can
> inspire confidence and demonstrate that they will make sure everyone
> is successful. People love to introduce someone to something they
> themselves are passionate about. Particularly if the newcomers are
> ready, confident, and relaxed. The trick is to start off with a
> high-energy introduction and show the experienced dancers that you
> will take care of them when they partner with newcomers. One key
> component is that you must assume the support of all of the
> experienced dancers in the room and speak on their behalf when you
> encourage newcomers to find someone who has danced at least one night
> of contras. Assume their support. Don't ask for it.
>
> Don't teach figures. Let the experienced dancers show them. Don't
> explain details (like progression or switching at the ends of the
> set). Let the experienced dancers do what they love doing. Allow
> them to take the lead in leading the newcomers. Empower the
> experienced dancers to introduce people to something they have great
> passion for. Both the experienced and the new dancers will love you for that.
>
> Good luck!
>
> Greg McKenzie
>
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_________________________________________________________________
Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync.
http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=PID23384::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:NF_BR_s…
Dear Luke,
Your biggest challenge is figuring out exactly how many guests have
done contra dancing before, but this may not be the group that you
wish to focus on! For me, the much more important folks are all of
the family members and friends who have never been to a contra dance
before. If children are at the wedding, it is also great to make sure
the dances can be done by them, as well. Welcoming these folks into
the world of dancing, and making the dances fun and fool-proof is so
rewarding when accomplished! Those who have danced before will
understand what you are trying to do, and won't expect dances that
they might normally do at a monthly dance.
We take progressing and identifying actives and inactives for
granted. However, these concepts can be a bit difficult, especially
for a group that includes many novices. And you can bet that the
novices WILL be dancing together! Another challenge may be that
there are more women, or more men present. or same sex
couples....adding another layer of complexity to improper dances that
might be called. To deal with all of these challenges, I tend to call
longways dances (Galopede; Boston Tea Party, Le Brandy, variations of
the Virginia Reel); circle mixers (you have chosen La Bastringue;
there are others with shorter swings); Sicilian Circles (especially
those that can be called without regard for gender), and other
formations, which work very, very well. An example:
Do Si Three
Formation is a line of three dancers (facing down the hall), facing
another line of three dancers (facing up the hall) in a contra-type
set (imagine contra couples, each with an extra person)
A1 (Take hands in a circle of six) Circle left
Circle right
A2 Ends of the line Do si do your opposite (only the four people
who are on the ends of each line)
Middles of the line do si do your opposite (only the two
people in the middle of the lines)
B1 Ends of the line Two hand turn your opposite ( and return home)
Middles of the line Two hand turn your opposite (and return home)
B2 In lines of three (another words, with your partners) go forward
and back
"say goodbye to these neighbors" And pass through to the
next line of three
I put this dance together especially for this type of celebration. So
many potential problems are solved! Lines of three can be any number
of men, women, or combo. Children easily understand the dance (as
long as they are not too young). Even young children, if trioed up
with adults, can be included. The progression to a new group is very,
very easy. At the ends, I remind dancers that they wait out one time
through the dance, turn around as a line, and get back in the dance.
I never have to talk about actives/inactives, but I do mention that
after each dance move, the dancers go "home", and home changes at the
ends only. I don't teach a contra swing....I encourage a two hand
swing (the experienced dancers will naturally go into a swing with
each other, the others will have a great time with the two hand
swing). The dancers have lots of surprises.....who they swing, how
they might get back to the same neighbors (from the first time
through the dance), how successful they are, and how much fun
everyone has doing the dance!
I recognize that I might be promoting dances that are much too easy
for your particular group of wedding guests. I also realize that much
of what you plan to do highly depends on what the bride and groom
wish to have happen, since it is their day! However, I also want to
give you lots of "permission" to call a simpler program if the
situation warrants it. Those of us who have literally called
hundreds of weddings/birthday parties/benefit dances/etc. have shared
thoughts about programming at conferences, dance weekends, etc., and
we all agree that simple, easily taught, gender role free, accessible
dances will add immeasurably to the joy of the occasion.
Have a great time!
warmly, Linda Leslie
On Jul 30, 2009, at 12:00 PM, callers-request(a)sharedweight.net wrote:
> Send Callers mailing list submissions to
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>
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> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> callers-request(a)sharedweight.net
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>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Callers digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
> 1. requesting wedding program feedback (Luke Donev)
> 2. Re: requesting wedding program feedback (Dave Colestock)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:56:58 -0400
> From: Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com>
> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
> Subject: [Callers] requesting wedding program feedback
> Message-ID:
> <243d1eda0907291556m46086a4qeea5c3033fb2b271(a)mail.gmail.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
>
> Hello,
>
> Some friends have asked me to call some contra dances at their
> wedding.
> There will be lots of dancers in the crowd, but not everyone will be
> familiar with contra.
>
> I've put together a schedule for my portion of the evening, two
> contra sets
> bracketing the cake cutting and some international folk dance and
> Klesmer
> (I'm only responsible for the contra).
>
> I'm planning on ~ 5 minutes to find partners and teach dances, and
> running
> the dances for ~10 minutes. The exception being the circle mixer
> after the
> snowball waltz, where folks keep there last waltz parter and move
> into a
> circle and teach the circle mixer quickly (~2 minutes) to keep
> people on the
> dance floor.
>
> The program is available as a google document at *http://
> tinyurl.com/mqlwa6.
> *I'd appreciate any feedback folks want to share, and would request
> comments
> to me off-list to avoid clogging inboxes. (I'll add know that Star
> Trek was
> specifically requested by the bride.)
>
> Thanks!
>
> --
> Luke Donev
> http://www.lukedonev.com
> Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:08:12 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Dave Colestock <contradancerdave(a)yahoo.com>
> To: Caller's discussion list <callers(a)sharedweight.net>
> Subject: Re: [Callers] requesting wedding program feedback
> Message-ID: <160877.17671.qm(a)web52607.mail.re2.yahoo.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
>
> Hi Luke,
>
> Just one quick observation -
>
> You may want to allocate 10 minutes for teaching the dances (make
> them simple but fun) and 5 minutes for dancing. 10 minutes of
> dancing 1 dance may be a bit much for the non-contra dancers who
> will be participating, since they are not used to dancing, and more
> teaching time may also be required. Havent had a chance to look at
> the program, but wanted to make you aware of what I have already
> found in calling wedding dances myself. Unless it is all dancers,
> keep it simple and short. If you do the Fan Dance you can run that
> a long time. That one traditionally runs long.
>
> Dave Colestock
> www.davecolestock.com
> www.frolicinthefall.freeservers.com
>
>
> --- On Wed, 7/29/09, Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> From: Luke Donev <luke.donev(a)gmail.com>
>> Subject: [Callers] requesting wedding program feedback
>> To: callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> Date: Wednesday, July 29, 2009, 6:56 PM
>> Hello,
>>
>> Some friends have asked me to call some contra dances at
>> their wedding.
>> There will be lots of dancers in the crowd, but not
>> everyone will be
>> familiar with contra.
>>
>> I've put together a schedule for my portion of the evening,
>> two contra sets
>> bracketing the cake cutting and some international folk
>> dance and Klesmer
>> (I'm only responsible for the contra).
>>
>> I'm planning on ~ 5 minutes to find partners and teach
>> dances, and running
>> the dances for ~10 minutes. The exception being the circle
>> mixer after the
>> snowball waltz, where folks keep there last waltz parter
>> and move into a
>> circle and teach the circle mixer quickly (~2 minutes) to
>> keep people on the
>> dance floor.
>>
>> The program is available as a google document at *http://
>> tinyurl.com/mqlwa6.
>> *I'd appreciate any feedback folks want to share, and would
>> request comments
>> to me off-list to avoid clogging inboxes. (I'll add know
>> that Star Trek was
>> specifically requested by the bride.)
>>
>> Thanks!
>>
>> --
>> Luke Donev
>> http://www.lukedonev.com
>> Luke.Donev(a)gmail.com
>> _______________________________________________
>> Callers mailing list
>> Callers(a)sharedweight.net
>> http://www.sharedweight.net/mailman/listinfo/callers
>>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
> End of Callers Digest, Vol 59, Issue 10
> ***************************************
